Fairfield Central’s Chris Simmons looks for the call after sliding safely into home against Columbia Tuesday. (Photo/Ross Burton)
WINNSBORO (April 6, 2016) – Stanley McManus was breathing rarefied air Tuesday night. In a run-shortened five-inning affair, the Fairfield Central junior hurled a no-hitter against the Columbia Capitals, striking out 14 of 15 batters in the 16-1 Griffin win.
“I think 10 (strikeouts) is pretty good,” Griffins head coach Scotty Dean said on McManus. “I think he is as good as anybody we see, or anybody in our conference. I think he’s next level good. The last pitch he threw was just as hard as the first pitch he threw.”
Columbia managed to get on the board first when starting pitcher Cory Brown scored on an error with no outs in the top of the second inning. The Caps left first baseman Jamaris Fleming stranded on second when the next three batters struck out.
The Capitals lead would be short-lived as the Griffins absolutely exploded in the bottom of the second inning. McManus started things off with a single, but was tagged out going for second. Then the wheels came off for Columbia.
Brown walked six consecutive batters before Antonio Jackson made Columbia pay with an RBI single. Travious Williams followed him up by knocking in two more runs.
“We talk a lot about plate discipline and making sure we hit strikes, and I think we did a good job of it today,” Dean said. “That pitcher (Brown) has been pretty good in the past, but he just struggled to find his own today.”
Fairfield took an 8-1 lead into the top of the third, where Columbia batters continued to fall victim to the arm of McManus. The Griffins padded their lead with an extra run in the bottom half of the inning.
Columbia’s half of the fourth consisted of more whiffing at the ball with no success. It was another three-up, three-down for the Capitals, all of which went down swinging.
The fourth inning turned out to be a replay of the second, as the Griffin’s offense flared up and squashed whatever hopes the Capitals may have entertained for a comeback. Again, it was McManus showing his bat skills and leading off the inning with a single.
Brown walked the next two batters, as control issues continued to plague the Columbia pitcher. He walked 11 batters in his four innings of work.
After the walks, Tydarious Young collected two RBIs for the Griffins on a double. Rodderick Woodard broke the lead open even wider when he cleared the bases with a double of his own.
Montavis Thompson, feeling left out, joined the RBI party on the very next at bat. A couple of batters later it was the highly active McManus bringing home a couple of runners with yet another double, the third of the inning.
“We had eight hits, and we’re getting Stanley (McManus) going, and he hasn’t been hitting the ball lately but we’re getting him going and he looked great up there swinging,” Dean said. “Antonio Jackson had two hits, Tydarious had a hit, so we hit the ball; but it all starts with the pitching and the defense.”
When the dust settled, the Griffins were wielding a dominant 16-1 lead. To close things off in impressive fashion, McManus struck out three more batters in the fifth, wrapping the bow around the blow-out victory.
The win marked Fairfield’s fifth regional victory of the season.
“This conference is tough,” Dean said. “Mid-Carolina, Newberry and Pelion are all pretty good. Newberry has a pitcher going to Clemson next year. They all got good pitching, good baseball, and you want to get every win that you have the opportunity to get.”
The Griffins host Great Falls Friday in a non-region contest, then Newberry comes to town Tuesday. Both games start at 6 p.m.
CH: 0-1-0-0-0 1-0-4
FC: 0-8-1-7-X 16-8-2
Pitching: FC- Stanley McManus (W), CG, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 4BB, 14K. CH-Cory Brown(L), CG, 6H, 16R, 13ER, 11BB, 1K, 1WP.
Hitting: 1B – Antonio Jackson, T. Williams, B. Adams (FC). 2B – S. McManus, T. Young, M. Thompson (FC). RBI – M. Thompson, S. McManus, T. Young, B. Adams, T. Williams.
